Chains of Freedom

I've been reading "The Mythical Man-Month", a book on software engineering by Fredrick P. Brooks. One of the things he says is, "Discipline is good for art. The external provision of an architecture enhances, not cramps, the creative style of an implementing group."

This reminded me of an analogy my Dad likes to use. A kite on a string feels constrained by its tether, but once the tether is cut, the kite crashes to the earth. He uses this analogy to describe the laws of God, and how they feel like they unfairly restrain our lives sometimes, but they are actually for our good, and without them our lives spiral into disaster.

I noticed something in these 3 situations. The "constraints" along the way save us from failing the ultimate judgment at the end. If we ignore the constraint, we can feel "free" for a while. But judgment will always come. A desire to be "free" from constraints demonstrates a misunderstanding of our purpose. Software is written to be useful. Kites are built to fly. People are created to glorify God. Desiring to be "free" from constraint is a declaration of our desire to pursue something other than what we were designed for. Ultimately, everything is judged as to how well it accomplishes it's purpose.

Jesus said the same thing.
Luke 20:17-18 - "But Jesus looked at them and said, 'What then is this that is written, "THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS HAS BECOME THE CHIEF CORNERSTONE"? Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.'"